Tennessee Doesn’t Want Harold Ford Back

Harold Ford may want to settle in to life in the Big City, because his political career appears all but over in his home state of Tennessee.

A new survey out today from Public Policy Polling reveals that the one-time congressman, who came surprisingly close to snatching a Senate seat from Republican hands, has virtually no standing in The Volunteer State.

Another Democrat who has fallen far out of favor with Tennessee voters is Harold Ford Jr. He came quite close to winning this seat in 2006 but has firmly established himself as a New Yorker now and would trail [incumbent Republican Bob] Corker by 23 points in a rematch at 55-32. Ford’s favorability is now down all the way to 26%, while 42% of voters say they see him in a negative light.

Ford has been in a bit of a rough stretch of late–the Democratic Leadership Council, whose moderate politics provided Ford a platform when he aborted an attempt to challenge Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in 2010–has recently shuttered.

His flirtation with Gillibrand’s seat led to a number of embarrassing revelations for Ford, including that he had only visited Staten Island via helicopter, rarely took the subway, counted the Regency as his favorite neighborhood breakfast spot, and took in $2 million per year working for Merrill Lynch. Ford dropped out of that race amidst declining poll numbers but rumors that he may run for mayor continue.